I should update you...

I made yet another blog. I have a general idea of which friend reads on which blog so I want to update all of you on what blog is what.

TUMBLR: I made this in early college (?) if not late high school, I think. I still have a few friends who read on there. Even until now, I love Tumblr humor and posts. So I often go there to get rapid-fire updates on what's cool in the Tumblr world.

BLOGGER: I made this at the end of college for friends who asked about my blog during the end-part-college of my life and I was too embarrassed to direct them to my Tumblr page. Basically, blogger and tumblr have the same posts. I'll write my posts on blogger, publish it, then copy and paste the text/pictures and post the same thing on Tumblr.

Now, a bit of background:
Russ was kind enough to make me an official website at the start of this year. At the end of December in 2015, I blogged about my new condo a lot and I got too many views on my katrinaandwords blog that it made me really anxious. Normally, by looking at the stats, I know how much my average views and reads are. And it pretty much correlates to how many people I know read my blog. But when I opened up my blog one day and saw a dramatic increase of view counts on my page, I didn't like it. Mostly because I didn't know who was reading my blog. I'm okay with one or two stray readers, but not a ton more. I told Russ this and explained that I didn't like knowing that there are people who find my blog now and are able to go back all the way to 2011 and see what I wrote. It's part of the reason why I made a blogger account years after making a Tumblr account. I get shy about what I've written in the past. It's basically a diary. So if I met you in the later part of my life, you get my blogger account URL without all the cheesy stuff I reblogged in my college days, when I used my Tumblr account primarily. Does this make sense? I'm rambling.

I blog in stages. Sometimes I feel like I outgrow an old blog so I start a new one. When I write in my personal journal, I get to end that diary when I write on the last page then I get to start a new one. I love the process of going into a shop, browsing different journals, picking the right one, and knowing that I get to use that journal for the next few months or even years. With the internet, I don't get to do that. I just get to write and write and write until one day I realize that I never got to end a chapter. It has pros and cons. Even with my personal journals, I hate going back and reading what I wrote years ago. I cringe. But I love the process of writing. I'll never stop loving that.

ANYWAYS, Russ made me a website where I feel comfortable sharing home renovation stuff plus crafts I'm doing. This site I blog more freely about house stuff knowing that if people run into that site, it's purely life updates/moments I don't mind sharing with strangers. And I get to be more artsy on it. It's a nice new grown up space. So if you're interested, check it out. Now I'm all shy. It was such a built up. Whatever. Here's the URL: TheHenryHome.com

February Ramblings and Some Random Goals

Happy February, everybody! I know it's technically a week into the month already, but I haven't properly blogged in awhile.

Don't really know what to update, or what I feel like updating. I am, however, so glad that it's February. This means that Russ has managed to successfully - and independently - work from home. I haven't blogged about this yet, not sure if it's news that I necessarily want on the internets, but Russ and I were sort of plunged into a sharp career change. Sharp change because it happened so suddenly and all at once. The holidays were insane. But now I think we're getting a better handle on things. And things are starting to look up.

January consisted of a lot of networking. To have a successful company, or to even be a successful freelancer, you need a lot of contacts. This is not my strong suit. Thankfully, it's Russell's. He's been to loads of networking events, talking about our small startup and making connections with lots of people. It takes awhile for gigs to come in, but they're coming in. Hallelujah! It's manna from heaven.

Sometimes I'm stressed. Sometimes I'm happy. Many times Russ and I are both so excited. Many times I forget that I am excited and am back to being stressed. On these days, I moan to Russell about how unhappy I am and he sits and let's me feel those feelings, then he picks me back up and I am happy again. Honestly, it's so exhausting. Let's just say that I am thankful for 1) a strong, encouraging husband and 2) community group on Tuesdays. I'm humbled knowing that I am far from perfect yet I am loved just the same.

I'm talking writing rambling too much.

Here are my goals this month:

• Make almond milk tomorrow morning. Got my almonds soaking in the fridge and am so excited to finally be making my own almond milk. I'll try to take pictures. Because I am that excited. (!!)
• Sew more! I love it.
• Write. Ugh
• Get back on my devotion plan. Russell has been able to correlate the days I haven't done my devotions to the days when I am cranky. Ha.
• Make more efforts to have a zero-waste home. I'm nowhere near to this but I have sewn us some reusable dinner napkins. One day, I hope to sew unpaper towels. I even got the snaps for them.
• Declutter. Do you like getting rid of stuff? Because I do. I love going through cabinets and closets and getting rid of things. This week, my goal is to go through the kitchen cabinets and get rid of kitchen things I do not use. I'm eyeing you, you no good "nonstick" frying pan.
  Side note: Unfortunately, husband won't let me declutter his DVD collection on my own. Apparently that's one cleaning venture he wants to do together. 

Okay, okay, I need to end this blog post now because it hasn't gone anywhere and has simultaneously gone in 10 different directions.

Wishing you all a good February!

I've been reading and writing more lately. Did you know I've kept a diary since I was 9? I would keep notebooks by me and write. Then sometime around the age of 12 or 13, I began to write even more regularly, about 2 - 3 times a day. Then when I was in high school, I wrote in my journal at least once a day. It wasn't anything special. Mostly I recounted my day in my journal because I didn't feel comfortable sharing the minutiae of life with any of my friends. And for a good 3 years while I was a teenager, I kept a public livejournal where I made lots of virtual friends through the internet. My virtual friends and I would read each other's livejournal entries and comment on each other's day. They actually did feel like my friends, even if I had never met them in person. This is not sad. Please don't read this and think what a sad life. It was actually the opposite. How wonderful that I was brave enough to share my teenage written true-life stories with strangers! I'm no longer that brave.

For most of college, I kept up my habit of writing in my journal everyday. In addition to that, I'd even write hand-written letters and send them via post. I remember I had a callus on my right ring finger where my pen often rubbed against. I no longer have that callus and it causes a deep nostalgic pain in my heart. All for a missing callus. Most people try to get rid of their calluses but that is one callus I wish I could have back.

But sometime in college, I met a boy who is now my husband. Sometimes I wonder why I don't write as much anymore. And I beat myself up over it. I want to record my days in my journal, just like I used to since I was 9. But sometime in college, I met a boy. During my last year of college, for the first time in almost a decade, I stopped writing in my journal everyday. I wrote almost everyday, but not every day. That was a big difference. My journal no longer became my confidante. It was no longer the holder of my secrets or--let's be honest--the keeper of all my boring stories. Sometime in college, this beautiful boy suddenly started listening to all my retellings about my days, and he actually enjoyed them. He wasn't a blank empty page waiting to be filled. He was a human being who responded to my stories. He'd laugh or smile, groan and scoff at the right moments. I don't know why this is so important to write down. But I need you to understand that when I stopped writing consistently after a decade of dedication, it was for a good reason. One that I never regret. I started loving a boy, and he loved me back.

Now, I am writing and reading more. And the beautiful boy who I met while I was in college lives with me. And now it's him who nudges me towards my laptop or notebook. Now he's the one encouraging me to write, and who understands if I'm not ready to share a story yet but instead tells me to write it down.

It's come to a full circle and I finally have the same joy and passion I had when I was 9 -- when I received my first diary and discovered what it meant to write.

Something Beautiful

After spending the last few months making our condo a home, Russell and I have been doing some hardcore chilling. It's very nice. This past weekend, we made ourselves as useless as possible and we had so much fun doing nothing. Poor Lewis.

We also booked tickets to Florida in November. This means that I will be visiting Harry Potter land and I am SO EXCITED. Russell is going through all the Harry Potter books and should be done by the time we go to Florida, which means we will get to experience the excitement of Harry Potter together! This is romance, folks.

Other beautiful things have been happening. I think the more that we're married, and the more seasons we experience--metaphorically and literally--the more I see our marriage strengthen. In addition to that, we have good people in our lives who speak wisdom and truth to us in times of need. And for that, I am so thankful.

Here are some pictures I have on my iPhone camera roll. I like to scroll through my pictures once in awhile to be reminded of all the wonderful, small things I get to experience.

For example:

Is this how falling leaves smells like?

Since it's been hot, we had to recreate our own version of "Autumn" in the Henry home. This involved lots of Fall-colored flowers and Fall-scented candles.

Baking nights:

Tell me this is beautiful

I need to work on my frosting applying skills, but this cake here was so yummy. It's Earl Grey cake with Lavender Chocolate frosting. Russell and I love plants, but it doesn't end there. We also love food that tastes like plants.

Rest:

On Monday, I looked through my work email and realized I didn't have much work to do that day so I decided to spend the day at my parents' house. I hung out with my dad a bit in his garden, chatted with my mom, then took the puppy to the park across the street. It was a beautiful day. It made my heart full and made me thankful for the wonderful childhood I spent in that home and the many days I spent in this park.

While at my parent's house...

I caught Tiki the turtle pulling out some pretty impressive stunts that explained to me how he has managed to escape twice (Once, we found him under the banana tree. The second time, he made it as far as the guava tree). He got down from climbing the fence after I waved some lettuce at him.

Little things:

I got a new planner and have started to write things in it already!

And, of course, books:

Russ and I made a trip to the library and rented some books. Nothing says beauty like curling up on the couch with a pile of books and having lots of time.

Updates, Short Story Style

Hello! Here are some updates:

• Russell dislocated his shoulder for the sixth time Saturday night/early Sunday morning. This time we couldn't get his shoulder back in just by ourselves; no urgent cares were open at midnight; so we ended up at the ER. This is my fourth time taking Russ to the emergency room since we've been together. Four times too many I think. The doctor had a hard time getting his shoulder back in. There was a lot of yanking and grunting. I have realized that the worst sound you could ever hear is the sound of your loved one in pain. We got home at 4 AM. I teased Russ that the only time we stay out late on weekends is when we're at the hospital.


• Oh, Russ dislocated his shoulder falling off a chair he was standing on. There was a big spider on the ceiling and I asked him to kill it for me. Darn spider. Stupid wobbly chair. I honestly thought he broke something when he fell. The doctors thought he shattered his shoulder but we're so lucky and thankful that wasn't the case. I never thought seeing moments in slow motion was a real thing, but it is. The entire time I was driving to the hospital, that scene kept replaying in my head. The way the yellow chair dipped backwards, then forwards, then Russell falling against the wall before dropping backwards. Then the silence. Russell is the luckiest guy but the unluckiest. In Philippines last year, his oxygen tank stopped working while he was scuba diving. While 30 meters underwater, he managed to communicate to his instructor that the tank stopped working, and they got back up water. No big deal. You see--lucky yet unlucky.


• Our kitchen cabinets are almost all white now. My parents are coming over this week to help me screw the cabinet doors back on since Russell is out of service at the moment. Russell and I finally settled on the knobs/handles we want on our cabinets. Originally, we thought we would go with stainless steal or gray knobs. We ended up going for plain black handles to stay with the more classic look. I am so excited for this kitchen to finally come together.


• I am sewing a whole bunch of drawstring pouches. Without getting too much into it, I jumped on the Zero-Waste bandwagon -- or at least, I'm trying to. It's not a bad wagon to be on. I finally got reusable bags and I even bought these bags to put my small produce in. And because I saw those pouches, I got inspired to try to make my own. I've been browsing through Etsy and bought a few more reusable items I never thought about before such as sandwich bags, snack bags, etc. Eventually I want to be able to make my own. I am still trying to get the zippered pouch down, but for the time being, I'm making these pouches to store my nuts and seeds in.

  

  fun fabric



• Our patio is coming together quite nicely. This last weekend, we dedicated our time to fixing our patio and moving the plants around to make it look more roomy. I'll post before & after pictures soon. We scored an awesome Crate & Barrel outdoor rug on Craigslist I'm pretty proud of. I am becoming quite the thrifter when it comes to finding quality/pretty home decor.

Pending

I want to write about our home buying process but at the same time I don't because blah.

To sum it up in one word: tiring.

It is so very tiring. Let's just say it starts off as exciting then a little bit scary, maybe even daunting, but then it's exciting again, and then (briefly) boring and it goes on and on until all you're left with is this weariness settling into your bones and you don't even have your new home yet.

I'm complaining. It's all worth it in the end - I know that. I just want that condo! We have so many ideas on what we want to do, how we'll start decorating, etc. but we can't do any of that. To sum this part up: I am impatient.

I am also embarrassed to admit that I have never lost my patience this many times in such a short amount of time. There are so many papers to sign I want to cry. To add on to that, it is our first time trying to buy a home and (and!) it's a short sale. Whomp whomp. But I will keep chanting my mantra that it is all worth it in the end.

God is providing for everything we need at the exact moment we need it. It's like the manna falling from the sky. We're on the fringe of worrying that we don't have enough of something and then bam! God meets our needs. It feels like everyday I am reminded of my lack of faith. But yet, I worship a God who is full of grace and that is enough to bring all the joy back.

I'm so glad that I am going through this home buying process with Russell. Sometimes, we'll joke about being homeless or broke, but then we'll smile and say that even if all those things were true, we are still married and happy and at least we have that. I know, sappy. Love blah blah blah. But it's true guys, love sustains.

Anyways, I am off topic now so I'll end this here. I need to go back to internet hunting and coveting pretty house things I can't buy (yet) (hopefully).

The Henrys are Back in Orange County

Hello! Russ and I are currently living in my parents' house. You read that right. I am moving backwards in my life and am currently typing this from my childhood bedroom. Who knew things would come in full circle and that I would end up back in this room, only this time with a husband and a dog.

In all seriousness, my parents have been so nice in letting us stay with them while we wait for our condo to close. Hopefully, we will get to move into our new place at the end of this month. I'll joke with friends and mentors how I'm going against the natural current of life by moving back into the house I grew up in. But most people just smile and remind me that it's a strategic move. Russ and I decided it'd be smarter to live with my parents for a month rather than find a place that'll allow a one month lease. All in all, it's been great living here. Lewis is always tired so there's no need to take him on long walks. I've been able to catch up with friends. I help my mom out with a little bit of cooking. And the laundry here doesn't need quarters!

I'm a bit antsy to get the condo already. Russ and I look at way too many home decor/woodworking Instagram accounts. All I want is to decorate a home. All Russ wants is to make stuff and have space for it.

Speaking of which, Russ has lots of space in my parents' backyard to do woodworking. Which comes in handy since we're doing our first Crafter's Fair at the end of this month! It'll be a fairly small show which is good for us since I'm not entirely sure if we even know what we're dong. Stay tuned to when I post pictures of what we're making.

Two Years

Hello there! You are now reading the blog of a woman who has been married for TWO years. Woo!

This past week, Russ and I took a trip to Seattle and Portland for our anniversary. It was basically a foodie trip since most of the activities on our itinerary involved eating. No complaints here. We had lots of oysters and fresh fish. Mmm.

Seattle affirmed that I am not made for cold weather. Seattle weathermen claimed they were having one of the "warmest" days yet this year--the same day I went out and bought a scarf. However, we were lucky enough to not get rain since we were doing a lot of walking.

Here's some pictures from our anniversary:

Space Needle

Anniversary Dinner

We did lots of the touristy things: Pike Place Market, library (my favorite), Space Needle, Gum Wall, etc.

Gum Wall was actually pretty gross. It's interesting to look at in pictures but not fun to walk by. 

The first thing Russell said when he looked out the plane window as we landed in Seattle was, "Trees!". Everything was green. I forget what it's like to live in a state where there isn't a drought. There were lots of pretty flowers and lots of bouquets sold at low prices. 

We also visited the EMP museum for a couple hours. Lots of fun and opportunities to be silly:

We took a day in our trip to do a day trip to Portland. We hopped on a train and 3.5 hours later, we were in another city and state. (Again, California fails me. Russ and I jump in a car, drive 8 hours, and are still in the same state. I must've complain though. SoCal offer me the best climate and location combination my body can deal with.)

In Portland, we ate more food. And bought an iPad. And books. And did lots of shopping. That's what happens when we visit a place that has no sales tax: we eat and shop.

Yummy cheese board before our dinner in Portland

Since we did a lot of packing and moving recently, taking a break and going on this trip was good for us. I enjoyed lots of quality time while eating and exploring.

I can't believe it's been two years. Before our anniversary, I kept saying "our first anniversary" because it hasn't felt like two years. I love being married. Russell, here's to two years and many more to come! Can't wait to see what this next year brings.

But the Greatest of These is Love

I'll spare you any cheesy Valentine's Day updates. But but but...I wanted to show you how pretty I wrapped Russell's present. I am more proud of my wrapping and how I decorated it than I am of its actual contents:

That is real brown bag wrapping. Like, it's a Sprout's brown grocery bag and I ripped off the handles then used the bag as wrapping. Then I stamped it all pretty with pink paint. It made me sad to see Russell excitedly tear through the wrapping because it was so pretty.

Russell has had a work project causing him to work a lot this past week--while he was sick, booo. So it was a treat that this weekend, Russell had planned a little getaway weekend for us in Pasadena. I got to see the Huntington Library & Botanical Gardens finally! I've been wanting to go since my Chaucer professor in college told us about the original Canterbury Tales resting in the Huntington Library on display. That was a treat to see.

Lots of food was eaten, googly eyes were given, presents exchanged, etc. etc.

I believe in holidays and anniversaries. I believe in celebrating the little things in life, and especially the little things in marriage. Valentine's Day is wonderful in ways that allow us to celebrate love and to shower that love on our friends and family. While I enjoyed the presents and the trip, I need to end this blog post stating that the greatest thing throughout this weekend was love. And without God, we wouldn't have this kind of love.

Agape

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails...And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.   

1 Corinthians 13:4-13

Simplicity

Since getting back from Philippines, Russ and I finally collected all our plants from my parent's house and placed them back on our patio. A lot have died because of the weird Southern California freeze that happened while we were gone, but some are still alive. I've been working/writing in our patio every morning where it's peaceful and nice to be surrounded by plants while I type.

Not a bad home office:

Sun!

Lewis loves the sun as much as I do so he hangs out with me until noon which is when the sun leaves our patio :(

This next month or so, Russ and I decided we won't spend money buying art stuff or home goods. I was inspired by a blog post by Thrifty Decor Chick and decided to give it a try. We have lots of leftover wood and art supplies--it'll be interesting to see what we can make with the things we already have.

Creative Outlet

Hey guys,

I'm in a need of a creative outlet so I will make more of an effort to use this blog. I have my fingers crossed in hoping that I will actually stick to this goal.

A little update: 
I'm working part time from home now. This means that I spend a lot of the time going crazy from the lack of human contact. It also means that I talk to my dog, Lewis, a lot of the time. But having more time at home has been a welcomed game-changer because it means I get to nourish our little apartment with love, I get to go on lots of tiny adventures with friends, I get to hike and exercise more, and Russell gets more home cooked meals. Honestly, I don't know if I'll be able to switch back to a full time office job. I'm pretty spoiled right now.

Another change that's taking place this year is that Russell and I might be looking for a new home. Shhh, don't want to jinx anything by writing too much. I'll update on that as more of our plans solidify.

Since I am on a verbal binge, Russell and I have started an Etsy shop! Once we get more items on there, I'll share the link. It's a pretty small, dinky online store at the moment but I hope it grows over time. One of the things I wanted to do this year is to have more creative time with Russell. He's great at woodworking and I'm good at small randoms, so we're trying to piece that together. Our weekends consist of creating and crafting...things. More on that too as time passes.

2015 began with lots of changes and more are on the way. I'm excited to see where 2015 takes us.

'Till next time (and there will be a next time),
Katrina Henry

Six Months of Marriage

This post is a bit overdue but on October 27, Russell and I celebrated six months of being married! Yeah yeah, it's only six months but at the same time it's been SIX MONTHS. Can't believe we're already halfway to a year.

In celebration, Russ and I did a weekend trip to San Diego. We stayed at a little hotel close to downtown SD. At night, we went to a nice sushi dinner. We didn't realize that it was Halloween weekend on the 26th/27th and Gaslamp was having a Halloween costume contest. As a result, it was way more crowded than we expected. We were able to avoid the crowds and loud jostling since we ended up going to a well-hidden speakeasy where there were only a few other people hanging around. 

The next day, Russell and I rented a GOcar for an hour. It's basically a go kart that goes up to 40 mph that you drive around the streets of San Diego. The first thing that went through my mind was "How safe is this thing?" For an answer, one of the workers handed us one helmet each. At first I was scared as normal cars zoomed past us but if you had seen the look on Russell's face and how much fun he was having, you'd also think it was worth the safety risk. 

Small GOcar

Near the end of our one hour rental, we veered off the mapped course and drove around a neighborhood. There we found a neat little bridge that connected two hills.

We explored a bit and tried to get a feel of San Diego. Since our lease is ending next year, we are narrowing our choices of cities we can see ourselves settling in...and San Diego is one of the places we are looking into. We still don't know yet :)

It Still Makes Me Laugh When I Think About It

About a month ago, Russell and I were watching Skyfall at the movie theater. When the movie ended, I noticed someone to my left who I thought looked like Colleen. Russell was already squinting towards my left and when I turned to get a better glimpse to see if it was really Colleen, I saw an Asian girl with her hood on. She jumped a little out of her seat and made a surprised squeak. It was Colleen. We ended up watching the same movie, at the same theater location, and sitting on the same movie aisle without knowing it until the film was over.

Today, for white elephant, Megan picked a present that looked a bit shady wrapped in a box. The present was from Colleen. As she opened it, she pulled out a bird feeder and then a giant bag of bird seed. I looked at Russell with a bit of fear and humor in my eyes. The only thing I can think of was, Oh gosh. I really hope Colleen opens the white elephant present I bought but at the same time that would be kind of creepy. When it was Colleen's turn, she was reaching for Angela's present but decided to open the present I brought instead. As she was trying to take it out of the bag, I was already clutching onto Russell in anticipation.

There were two wrapped presents in the bag I brought. She opened the smaller one first and I could already hear my friends joking, saying "Watch, it'll be birdseed." Colleen unwrapped the present—It was birdseed. She quickly looked at me then looked at the second larger present that came with it. She reached over and tore the second, bigger, present open—it was a bird feeder. At this point I couldn't breath from laughing so hard. All I can do was look at Colleen's face—a look of genuine shock—and laugh really hard. We were both weirded out.

I had to write about this because even now I am still thinking about her face when she unwrapped the present, and she realized it was yet another odd coincidence we shared. Oh my gosh Colleen, I think your face was priceless and I still can't stop laughing. hahahaha

"I go to seek the Great Perhaps" — François Rabelais

I want the beautiful unknown and the Great Perhaps. I want to know that everything will be okay or not okay. I don’t care for lies today. I want the cold hard truth. I want the awkwardness, the budding fear of walking into a dark room. I want to be told that I will be okay, but sometimes not okay—and in the end, this makes it all okay. Because what are we but dust made from the earth, living for a purpose that is either misdirected or profound?

I want the crushing feeling of a thousand burdens because I know I will not have to bear it alone. I want the pain from being lost then the joy of being found. I want the rock bottom because then I will relearn where my foundation is. I want to know where my weaknesses are; I wonder if they will be where my strengths lie.

I want the extremes. I want the epiphany that makes sense for only a brief passing second that ebbs into confusion. I want the lightning, the uncomfortable feeling of wet clothes sticking to my skin, the desperate longing for an umbrella and not knowing if the longing is futile or worthwhile. I want the journey, the great commission, and having a faith so strong that it could move mountains.

Oh I want the stuggles. And I don’t want the comfortness of words that I write. I want the written word. I don’t want to find the familiarity of my own. I want the tears and the anger and the realization that I am nothing nothing nothing but something in they eyes of the one who holds truth.

And after all this, I want rest. I want my jubilee, I want my peace. I want to remember that I am human in the hands of mercy and grace.

Encouragement

Russell and I had dinner with an awesome family tonight. Kuya King and Ate Faye are such an encouraging and godly couple that I can't help but admire them. And their daughter River is just the cutest thing. The three of them will be moving abroad next year so Russ and I were lucky enough to be able to sit down and talk about life and church with them.

We talked about church. We talked about missions. We watched River eat her mac and cheese. We talked about how exciting marriage will be. Time went by fast. Like Ate Faye, I am already starting to grieve for their departure next year. Russell and I will be in Philippines and Singapore next year so hopefully we will be able to see them in Singapore or Malaysia.

I have been blessed with such a great community around me. From the parents who pick up their kids from the Sunday School I teach, from the people who attend Friday night service, and from the people who I get to share life with on Tuesday nights—I am so happy and thankful to be surrounded by people who invest and share their life with the community around them.

I can only hope one day that Russell and my relationship can also be a blessing to others also. Everyday I am learning what it means to be part of the body of Christ.

Family Vacation

Recently, my family and I took a week vacation to Vancouver, Canada and Seattle, Washington. In Vancouver, we stayed with my aunt and uncle's family. We were there for about five days and were able to enjoy tourist sites as well as Tim Horton's coffee.

Here's probably my favorite picture while we were in Canada:

Spiderman poses.

Below are some more pictures from Vancouver, Canada.

Blessings

I've written a post already about how good wedding planning has been. Since that post, even more amazing things have happened!

1. Russell and I got our Save-the-Dates! We got them printed by the company downstairs from Russell's work. I guess Russell has known some of the people there for awhile so we decided to get our postcards printed there. When Russell went to pick up the Save-the-Dates on Wednesday, the lady told him to consider it as a wedding present and we got them for free! AHHH! Everyone is being so nice and we are so overwhelmed by everyone's generosity.
   
   Here's a picture of me and Russ on the day we took the pictures. The Save-the-Dates look similar...but not. Better than this picture, haha. Anyways, they look amazing and I can't wait for people to start getting them in the mail.
   
                        
   
   Save the Date!
2. Russell and I bought our first new car together! It's a Prius C!
   
                        
   
   It's so pretty.
   
   

   We've been looking to buy a car that has better milage than his Jeep and what better car to get than a Toyota Prius? I should mention that since the Toyota Prius came out years ago, my dream car has always been a Prius. I've told my parents and Russell that when I have a proper job, I would love to buy a Prius. Well, I was able to sell Russell on my dream car so now we both get to enjoy driving around my our dream car! 

Everything has been so exciting. I get to start my new job on Monday, and I'm actually looking forward to challenging myself in this new job, learning new skills and whatnot. Russell is playing hockey again since his shoulder is better. It has just been one blessing after another and we praise God for all of it.

Photo

Here's a picture of the lights at LACMA. This past Sunday, Russell and I had a giant date day where we went through a corn maze, a modern art museum, and ate at an Italian restaurant. 

For more photos, here's a flickr album of that day: Date Day

Wedding Goodness: An Update

Russell and I will finally be getting our Save-the-Dates this week and they will be mailed out in a week or so! We also took our engagement photos this weekend with Sun Swept Studio and I just can't wait to see the photos. Our photographer, Ann, showed us a couple of pictures on her camera and they look amazing--not that me and Russell looked amazing, the lighting and composition looked amazing, haha. Overall, wedding planning is going very smoothly and I hope that I did not just jinx it.

My family has been totally more open about talking about the wedding. I think my whole extended family finally know about the engagement which means Mom can now relax. Besides making the lists and excel sheets at the beginning of the engagement, the planning is going by peacefully. Russell's family is so helpful and supportive. I am so glad we decided to do the wedding in Oroville.

It's so funny because people always ask me how my wedding planning is going. I always answer with a simple, "good." This results in them prodding me more which has led me to realize that the answer "good" never really suffices. I have my maids-of-honor and bridesmaids texting me once in a while asking me how things are going. Or friends will ask if the planning has been stressful. I never have the right response because I don't know what people expect me to respond with. I tell them that the planning is going "good" and I really mean it. This engagement season is joyous and wonderful. God has been so good and all our expenses seem to be met. We are just so blessed and I am continuously amazed by the wonderful people around me.

My constant prayer is to remember that the wedding is just a day of celebration. I want to focus on having a good, godly marriage and not get lost in the hustle and bustle of wedding planning. I find myself collecting my mom and dad's words of wisdom on married-life and parenthood. My church has also been doing a "Relationships" series that goes over different roles in marriage which has been helpful. Everything has been good because I have not been burdened by stressful wedding planning but have had more time to focus on teachings of the Word and wisdom from trusted elder spiritual couples.

Lately, it seems like I have been doing more marriage-planning rather than wedding-planning. But that is all fine with me :)

Road Trip

When I quit my job at the law firm, I decided I needed to do something spontaneous while I had the free time to do it. I texted my friend Stephanie asking her if she was available for some spontaneity. She was.

We ended up taking a quick and fun road trip to Laughlin (NV), Oatman (AZ), and the Mojave Desert (CA).

Below the break are some pictures from our trip: